Statistics obtained from EMPS over October - December 2007, showed:
The statistics on the consequences of even one bad hire are chilling.
The financial cost to businesses from theft, violence, and false credentials can be enormous. There are other costs that are hard to measure, such as the harm to employee morale or the company's reputation. Industry statistics suggest the cost of even one bad hiring decision can exceed R100 000, taking into account the time spent recruiting, hiring, and training and the amount of time the job is left undone or done badly by an unqualified applicant.
Given the enormous price tag of a bad hiring decision, it is no surprise that employers of all sizes are turning to various tools to boost the effectiveness of their hiring process. The tools run from criminal, credit, honesty and skills testing to specialised interview techniques.
Ultimately, none of these tools has proven effective in weeding out bad candidates, unless used in conjunction with a program of pre-employment background screening to obtain hard facts about a candidate.
Pre-employment background screening works in four critical ways:
Checking criminal records is a good example of a pre-screening process that helps promote safe hiring. It is estimated that 10% of job applicants have criminal conviction records relevant to the hiring process; without a screening program, it is a near-statistical certainty that a company is going to hire someone with a criminal record.
Another important tool is CV verification. Job applicants often use their CVs as a marketing tool, but the hiring company can find itself in trouble when CVs exceed the bounds of honesty. It is estimated that up to 30% of CVs contain material falsehoods that pertain to previous employment and education. A professional screening company can verify whether an applicant has the degrees or qualifications claimed. Even if a past employer will not give details about job performance, just verifying the job dates and job title is crucially important. One of the most critical parts of the hiring process is to look for unexplained gaps in employment.
Other tools can include financial background checks (when relevant to the job), ID verification and driver's licence verification.
Common hiring concerns:
Even with all of the advantages of a screening program, many employers still have questions and concerns about implementing background checks. These are the four most commons concerns that employers express:
Is it legal? Employers have an absolute right to conduct lawful pre-employment screening in order to hire the best-qualified candidates. Under that law, the employer first obtains the applicant's written consent to be screened.
Is it cost-effective? A pre-employment screening will typically cost less than the cost of a new employee on his or her first day on the job. That's pocket change compared to the damage one bad hire can cause. In addition, employers typically only screen an applicant if a decision has been made to extend an offer, and not all applicants.
Does it discourage good applicants? Employers who engage in screening do not find that good applicants are deterred. Job applicants have a desire to work with qualified and safe co-workers in a profitable environment. A good candidate understands that background screening is a sound business practice that helps a company's bottom line and is not an invasion of privacy or an intrusion.
Does it delay hiring? No. Background screening is normally done in just 48 to 72 hours. Most of the information needed is not stored in databases. Occasionally there can be delays that are out of anyone's control, such as previous employers who will not return calls.
Furthermore, an organisation that is careful in its hiring practices should find a lower rate of "hits" during background checks. There are a number of steps one should take to ensure safe hiring well before a name is submitted to a background company. These techniques include making it clear your company does background checks in order to weed out bad applicants, knowing the "red flags" to look for in an application, and asking questions in interviews that will filter out problem candidates.
Both employers and applicants have learned that pre-employment screening is an absolute necessity in today's business world. More importantly, they've learned due diligence in hiring is a way to keep companies safe and profitable in today's business environment.
